Tigers Making Ground In Jersey

Monday

Jun 18, 2007 at 4:47 PMJun 18, 2007 at 5:15 PM

Matt Long

Clemson has been recruiting heavily in New Jersey this recruiting season, and former cornerback and current graduate assistant Andy Ford has been in the middle of the Tigers' efforts in the Garden State. Ford's work may be paying off, as the Clemson is among the favorites of two different NJ players from different corners of the state: WR Lynell Payne (6-3 210) of Marlton, and DB Dwayne Gratz (6-0 179) of Piscataway. Payne has said that both Clemson and Cincinnati are his top two schools, while Gratz says the Tigers are his current leader, although they haven't yet offered. Payne holds seven offers currently, including Clemson, Cincinnati, UConn, Temple, Delaware, Buffalo, and Akron. Rutgers and Iowa have also shown interest. Payne says he has been to Connecticut and Temple for visits, and plans to attend a camp at Temple Thursday. "I was supposed to go to Clemson for a camp last week," Payne said, "But we had final exams then, so I couldn't go." He said he would try to make it down to Clemson eventually, but didn't know when he would be able to go. Gratz, meanwhile, holds offers from Maryland, Temple, and UConn. Other than Clemson, other recruiters have come from Syracuse, West Viriginia, Rutgers, Minnesota, Boston College, Colorado, and Michigan State. "I've been to camps at UConn and Rutgers," Gratz said. He has a busy week ahead of him as he plans to camp at Syracuse this Wednesday, followed by Maryland on Saturday and Rutgers on Sunday. Clemson is currently Gratz's favorite, followed closely by Michigan State and Maryland. Asked why he liked Clemson, Gratz replied, "They're a Top 25 team and they've been recruiting me hard." Gratz said that he believes Clemson will offer him soon, "Coach Ford said he would like to offer me, but he'd have to check it with the other coaches after they'd watched video of me." Gratz said he won't be visiting Clemson this summer, however. "I'm going to wait to take an official visit, because it's just too far." He believes he should reach a decision halfway through his senior season.